What are Tiers of Mastery?
Most Channelers never leave Novice.
This is not a tragedy. A Novice Channeler is capable of deeds that would seem impossible to someone who has never touched Prisma at all – likely going on adventures and learning much about themselves in the process. A Novice Channeler can be a hero of their town, or an Artificer with a very profitable workshop – leading a content life with a very useful and rewarding skillset.
But the type of Channelers who shape History – the Legendary casters and warriors who form kingdoms and challenge Gods – walk a long, arduous path that most do not see the end of.
This journey is one as old as time, and as it is well-trodden over the aeons, society at large has recognized Five Distinct Tiers of Prismatic Mastery across Channelers.
These Tiers of Progression all immediately signal the prestige and power of a given Channeler, and Guilds exist to officiate and document this progress among recognized Channelers, with a robust network across the world.
Thanks to these efforts, a party of Channelers with Novice-Level badges can travel across a continent to a remote and foreign town, and its residents will understand immediately their prestige, power, and what they can offer them. This holds true across the spectrum: those who carry Paragon Designation are hailed as celebrities and heroes wherever they go. In a City Besieged by an Ancient Divine Dragon, it is common knowledge that the first thing to do is seek out a Channeler of this status – and pray they arrive in time.
Tiers describe Channelers first and foremost. Though, as Channelers are often on the frontlines against the world’s Creatures and Threats and mastering particular spells and weapons at predictable levels of mastery, many other things are “ranked” with this same system.
Hostile Creatures have Tiers corresponding with the level of Channeler that stands a chance against them. A Creature being classified as Tier II, or Journeyman-Level, requires at least a Journeyman-level Party to defeat on a level playing field.
A Tier I Novice-Level Party of Adventurers would be at a heavy disadvantage on a level playing field, and a Tier III+ Party would handle this creature with ease. This allows settlements to properly call in help and assign quests to properly equipped Channelers.
Weapons and Spells are Described by the tier of Mastery expected to properly wield them.
A Prismatic Spell is determined to be Journeyman-Level when the amount of Prisma required corresponds roughly to a Journeyman-Level Channeler’s expected output.
This is not a hard-and-fast rule, of course, and the designation also serves as a great heuristic for ascertaining the proficiencies of a particular Archetype and Channeler. A Novice Minstrel, for example, might have the skill to cast Journeyman-Level Charms thanks to being particularly talented at casting Charms. Inversely, this same Minstrel might graduate to Journeyman level and still rely on Novice-Level Evocations as a backup option.
Martial Abilities operate on a similar axis, but mundane weapons do not themselves carry a Tier Designation. Instead, Tiers are applied to Proficiencies and Techniques. A Novice and a Virtuoso Barbarian, then, both likely able to wield the same Battleaxe and use it to rout foes with no issues. The Virtuoso Barbarian, however, has Virtuoso-level Proficiency with the weapon - and thanks to mastery of the self and their corresponding Prisma, swings it with a much greater deal of potency and consistency, cleaving it through multiple foes at a time and cutting off limbs in the process. As with spellcasting, one with particular talent for a specific weapon might achieve a higher tier’s abilities earlier, and a mage wielding a dagger as a sidearm might swing it with Novice-Level abilities despite being a Channeler of the Master Tier.
What follows is a description of each Tier as recognized by the Guild — what they mean, what they demand, and what they promise to those who earn them.